If I might suggest, Ben and Jacks as you said has outdoor seating, however one block away is 230th 5th rooftop bar/lounge. My ideal night is dinner at Ben and Jacks, then cocktail on the rooftop. Best of both worlds!!

Yup...right on the sidewalk....not many tables, maybe 6-8, small two tops and a couple four tops.. I'm not much for outdoor dining, but the eye candy in the Meat Packing District would make me reconsider as an exception.....

I have not been, but that's precisely what I meant. I was in the city with my son, nephews and nephew to be for dinner @ the OH. They had the Kobe Burger, I had the Gotham RibEye. Afterwards, we went to the Mercury Bar on the east side....then they kicked the old timer out and I cabbed it back to 9/14 back to the garage where I parked. ....Walked around a bit before I got in the car and the Gansevort and others had lines very long and wrapped around street corners to get in...A tremendous concentration of beautiful women dressed quite nicely......I almost got whiplash.

Spent many a fun night on the roof of the Gansevort. It's a great location as the whole meat packing district is packed with people.

These days I prefer the mid-town 230th 5th ave it's a bit less busy and it's proximity to the Empire State Building is very impressive backdrop for a roof top lounge. Unlike Gansevort which closes its out door section in the winter (last I was there many years ago) 230th 5th has massive heaters and large plush robes for guests during the winter.